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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Tool Time Tuesday...Recycled Cereal Box Magazine Holder

Hello All...a whole week between posts...not good. I am getting a lot done though. My sister is determined to get a sewing room together for me and she is here almost everyday to help. We are painting and moving furniture and rebuilding furniture to make it all work. Hopefully I will have a post of the finished room soon.space
In the mean time, I am making these organizers for my new room. I have figured out that our household uses certain things all the time. The girls drink bottled water by the case, so I save the card board box it comes in. My husband likes the 4 C drink mix, so I save the tube shaped container that it comes in and we also eat a lot of cereal (but ironically not for breakfast). They eat it for an after school snack, for a quick snack before a dance class or a treat at night. We all have our favorites...Frosted Flakes is hubby's. So this week's TTT is to recycle these cereal boxes. I think these are probably out there in some tutorial, but thought I would share anyway.

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This is what the magazine holder/organizer looks like before you decorate it, but wouldn't this be cute in a child's room for all their books in an organizer with their favorite cereal on it.space

Here are the directions to get that shape from a box.space
Holding the box with the front facing you, place a ruler on the lower right corner and place a mark 5 inches from the bottom.space

Draw a line across the short side. My mark is the lower one, not the one towards the top...that was already printed there.

Here's the line 5 inches up.

Now take your ruler and draw a line from the top left corner down to the mark you just made.

Here's the line.

Now turn the box over and draw another line from the upper right corner down to the other mark that is 5 inches up from the bottom. Cut along these lines to reveal the shape of the magazine organizer as seen in picture #2. Now you are ready to decorate it.

I used some scrapbook paper that I already had, but you could use fabric, gift wrap paper, paint it to match your room, even pages from an old book or sheet music. If I can't find the right shade of robin's egg blue for my sewing room boxes, I might use the old pages from a book. You can decoupage or use spray adhesive.

Just add a name plate, a printed label or a cute little hang tag to remind you what magazines or patterns are in the box.

These are great for separating your different quilt magazines, patterns and templates. They're also great to keep all those pages that you have cut out of magazines. Just slip the page into one of those plastic protector sheets and then keep them in their own organizer. You can have one for inspirations for your quilting, favorite kitchens, Christmas, decorating etc...

These boxes are cute, help you stay organized and are FREE. That last part is my favorite!! Take a look around your house or in the kitchen and see what item you use all the time and could save for a project.

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I am going to be honest with you about this box...I ran out of paper. The other side isn't even covered. Now if I had more I would have folded over the paper and lined the inside of the box that the magazine doesn't cover. Oh well, it's almost midnight and that one side I did cover is cute.

There's been a plant in the background of some of the pictures. Isn't that pot too cute? It's a giant tea cup. That's a coffee mug to show how big the planter is.

Before I go, I want to let all the I Spy Swappers know that we are almost there. I have 2 more packages on their way this week. Once they come in, I will start separating them and send them out. I have received a lot of packages the past 2 weeks, but haven't had the chance to snap a picture. I should have a chance to get to it this week.

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I am also going to do a post about some extra special people out there in blog land. The kindness in this world never ceases to amaze me.

Hey Karen!! You are amazing, giving us TTT when you have so much going on. I love the idea, I'm always buying those things but I love the idea of decorating my own. You're awesome!! BTW I have the same cup/saucer in pink. A friend gave it to me because she knew I coveted it when she moved. You're lucky to have such a wonderful sister. Let us know if you'd like any contributions to your room, perhaps you need some new snippets of fabric to help make the process more cheerful!!

Another great idea! It never ceases to amaze me how very creative and resourceful you are! Good luck with your sewing room. Don't forget to show pictures. I love seeing pictures of other peoples sewing spaces. :0)

I am doing my room over as well and wish I had seen this TUT before I threw away a Cheerios box!!! I need some of these mag holders!!!Thanks for this idea and wishing you a wonderful new work area!Lola

Glad you and your Sister are getting your sewing room back in order..Love the cereal box idea I can always use more magazine holders.I don't think I spy should be on the top of your list right now. I for one am in no hurry..

Oh, I had forgotten this little crafty tidbit. I used to make these for my kids to store projects and books when they were young...I have magazines for quilting that are falling over all the time. Now I must get the grandkids to save me the cereal boxes as we so seldom buy any.Gosh, I hope the sewing area is done soon....Christmas is coming girl! and we need ideas!

I have been eyeing (no pun intended) your I Spy giveaways and fabric swaps. I have a cousin with a two-year-old daughter who is waiting for a kidney and liver transplant any day. She goes to the hospital for dialysis for three hours 6 days a week. When my cousin wrote, "any ideas of how to keep a two-year-old entertained without a lot of movement?" I thought of these I Spy quilts. You can read all about their daily saga at givehopetobensonandclaire@blogspot.com (her four year old son also has the same disease though not as progressed as his younger sister). Any chance of getting in on a fabric swap so I could make these sweet kids an I Spy quilt? I love your blog and appreciate you sharing your creativity. You can reach me at bsnixon@gmial.com

Just a heads up on boxes...if you want a really strong box that's pristine clean besides...try a Bisquick box. We get ours @ Costco so they are a nice large size & much heavier than cereal boxes. The inner liner is not even attached. I have 3 nearly grown kids, so we have pancakes once a week. I have always thrown these away when not used for kid projects: valentines mailboxes, etc. Thanks for this project.

So excited! I saw this a few weeks ago and finally have a weekend with nothing on the calendar. So I woke up and cleaned out my pantry. I found cereal boxes, cracker boxes, and lots of other boxes. Not all my boxes are big enough for magazines but I have so many of those little patterns in the plastic bags that I am going to label them "purses patterns", table runners, etc. I am so excited to finish the cleaning so I can have fun!!! - Oh and I am having my husband stop at the local hardware store for the cute little pipe holders! (And tell your husband - the teacher - that my daughter's 4th grade teacher is using cereal boxes for kids to keep books that they are reading in - too much in their desks...LOL)Tara

I tried fabric w/ ModPodge...and it didn't work. Not sure if it was the fabric (cotton...I think. I found it at Goodwill) or the MP. So I'm using scrapbook paper on my other boxes. Thanks for sharing this wonderfully clever idea!

I saved a bunch of the same sized- cereal boxes and cut them all out before I realized they weren't big enough to hold magazines! So make sure you check the size of the box before you do all of the work like me. :) At least I hadn't covered them yet!! LOL

I love this idea and have used it to organize cookbooks, food wrap boxes, and office supplies. You can get two organizers from one cereal box if you measure your 5" (or whatever you choose) on both the lower right and down from the top left. Then connect your diagonal lines, and your cuts will result in two identical halves.

I use this idea for many different leftover boxes, however, instead of covering them with one sheet of paper or fabric, I tear the paper into squares and decoupage all over the box. It allows for more flaws without showing, AND, often the paper I use is the brown filler paper that arrives in amazon deliveries when I purchase discounted snacks! I hate to throw out all that great paper and I also hated to use up my expensive, pretty wrapping paper, so the brown paper decoupage solved two problems!

Just made one of these magazine holders the other day. It looked great and I love it however the box was too small for my magazines. Luckly I was able to find another use for it. Thanks for the idea, it'll make doing up my craftroom (which was also hit by a flood) a lot cheaper with a more finished look in the end.

It's so funny-I made a holder like this around 3 years ago with the same paper! What are the chances? Mine is to small for magazines also but I still use it to sort other things. I highlt recommed this DIY craft!

I love this idea you shared! We go through a few boxes of cereal per week so it won't take me long to have enough to make these. I'm going to use them for my crochet patterns.I linked to your post when I wrote about my favorite 15 DIY Craft Supply Organization ideas. I would love for you to come and see it. http://homecraftsbyali.blogspot.com/2015/04/15-diy-craft-supply-organization-ideas.html

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About Me

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Karen. I am a wife to a wonderful man for over 28 years and a mom to two beautiful daughters. The girls have graduated from college and are starting wonderful lives of their own. We miss having them home, but they still keep us busy! I am a dental hygienist by day and in my free time I love to blog, sew, quilt, craft, rearrange furniture, shop in consignment stores and drink tea! Thanks for joining me on this blogging journey...I have sew many things to share!